Negotiations are at a standstill for the unions associated with the Cree and Kativik school boards when it comes to the renewal of their collective agreements.
This is despite the fact that other members of Quebec’s education community have already signed theirs.
Some 2,000 unionized teachers, education professionals and support staff represented by the CSQ have been waiting for more than 20 months to renew their collective agreements.
Tuesday, president of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), Eric Gingras, said he’s worried staff members at these school boards may leave “to the south [of Quebec],” where agreements have been renewed, bringing into effect new salaries and better working conditions.
“It has been six months since the CSQ renewed its other collective agreements. They are even signed,” said Gingras.
Contrarily, he says the Cree and Kativik school boards have reached “a dead end in negotiations.”
Gingras says he would like Education Minister Jean-François Roberge to get involved to speed up the settlement of the file.
He says he believes an agreement can be reached before the holidays if the necessary energy is put towards doing so.
— This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 14, 2021.
